trout

Subtitles

1

I wanted to begin with the word
lover but surely

you see the difficulty: I….
Don’t say it. Remember the day

we set up house by spelling out
yes on the air. I

dragged demolition timber for two
kilometres. You had to tease

splinters from my fingers. Only then
could I stroke you slowly with no

flinching. I wanted to begin with the word
lover but slipped

silently inside you. Say it was
forgiveness: say it.

2

Throw a stone
                              through a cloud
so I can see the primary
blue. Show me

a world where there are no scars:
show me your body. Shiver
your shoulders bare. We’re gonna go

walking through the park
every day : spring rain
softening our shoes into leaf mulch,
our arms
               light branches….

3

Your dream almost mine: my dream
turning over, look at me: go

on. The enchanted
enchanting

other, our love
returns you to the ringing

horizon, its idea a doorway
through which you leave

the world, where
the idea occurs to you, where

you occur.

23.5.1990, Forth Street, Christchurch